DeKalb’s Municipal Band Concerts Start Tonight

The first DeKalb Municipal Band Concert of the summer is tonight. The DeKalb Municipal Band will start its 158th season with a Dee Palmer Tribute Night. The community will surely miss Dee Palmer as he was the band’s conductor and head cheerleader, giving DeKalb a show every Tuesday night through the summer for 63 years.

Palmer spent his entire life bringing joy to other people through music. He gave up the life of a professional musician in 1948 and returned to his hometown of DeKalb to become director of the community band. The DeKalb Municipal Band was ‘in his blood’ as his grandfather was director of the band from about 1880 to 1890, and his father played in and managed the band for many years as well. Dee played trumpet professionally with such greats as Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Earl “Fatha” Hines and Jack Teagarden.

DeKalb had a band two years before the city was even founded. Municipal Bands have come and gone in many towns across America but DeKalb has maintained one continuously since that time. In the 1920s, DeKalb voters approved a municipal band tax, which is how the band has been supported ever since.

Vocalists Zachary Harris and Maureen Christine who performed at Palmer’s funeral also are slated to sing, and fireworks will conclude the performance this Tuesday evening. The DeKalb Municipal Band plays every Tuesday, June through August at 8:00pm. Concerts are held at the DeKalb Park District Hopkins Park Band Shell, 1403 Sycamore Road in DeKalb and are free to the public.